TravisDBA (2/4/2013)...He/she makes sure the spotlight is always on him/her and is quick to accept credit for team accomplishments. He/she is just as quick to assign blame to some individual on his team when something doesn’t go exactly right....One of the micromanager’s main concerns is self-promotion....I have worked for a few of these people in the past

Great comments on this thread. I have had clients who put my desk right in front of theirs so they could watch what I do over my shoulder. That does not bother me in the least. In such a case, I take the task list, put my headphones on, and proceed to overload them with completed work. Pretty soon, they can't have me out of their offices fast enough.

GeorgeCopeland (2/4/2013)Great comments on this thread. I have had clients who put my desk right in front of theirs so they could watch what I do over my shoulder. That does not bother me in the least. In such a case, I take the task list, put my headphones on, and proceed to overload them with completed work. Pretty soon, they can't have me out of their offices fast enough.

Excellent George, just excellent.

One thing I thought about adding earlier is that the one way to break a micromanager is to overload them with things to manage. If I just do what is requested and then go ask what is next, and ask again every time till the list is exhausted, while the entire time you keep asking about things on their plate and needs you will have if they want to know certain things the load becomes too large for them to manage. You can expedite this by asking for work at the very granular level. And also as you produce the required results the trust builds, and since they are getting overworked the first ones they will let loose are those who are producing and can be trusted.

The micro-managers I've had are not technical people and have MBA's. They are looking for a way to justify their degrees and think the walls will fall down without them. There is a issue of trust here, and the more they learn how much they don't know, the more they may be willing to trust the employee. But those that are out for themselves, anything goes.

I had a micromanager at my last job, but the thing was she couldn't decide what she wanted done when and she often contradicted herself. As others have indicated, she had her own issues be it with self confidence, insecurity, self respect... who knows. One day maybe she'll quit flaunting her PMP and actually become a mediocre middle manager.

I've had managers ask for "Everything, Now" in the past. I keep a written list of all my tasks, and if it gets too much just ask "Which are your top 3 for me to work on, and in which order?"

Once armed with this, the next thing that I am asked to do "As top priority" I can point to the list and say "Just tell me which of my top 3 it replaces and I'll get to it." They then have to decide if it is more important than the other important things.

Alex Gay (2/6/2013)I've had managers ask for "Everything, Now" in the past. I keep a written list of all my tasks, and if it gets too much just ask "Which are your top 3 for me to work on, and in which order?"

Once armed with this, the next thing that I am asked to do "As top priority" I can point to the list and say "Just tell me which of my top 3 it replaces and I'll get to it." They then have to decide if it is more important than the other important things.

I'm now left alone to manage my own workload.

Alex, I absolutely agree with you in theory. However, alot of managers (particularly micromanagers) tend to work in what I call "firehose" mode or "crisis management" mode. Your top 3 change daily and those tend to be verbal only. These type of managers don't like an email trail that demonstrates they don't have a good handle on their priorities. What they should be saying to you in reality is "This is your Top 3 for Tuesday, tomorrow, who knows?" Believe me, been there done that. Working for a micromanager can one of the most frustrating and demoralizing forces in the workplace., They tend to remind me of a person whose car is stuck in the mud. They spin their wheels like crazy producing all kinds of smoke and mess for everyone around them, but they don't really go anywhere.

"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ..."

Alex Gay (2/6/2013)I've had managers ask for "Everything, Now" in the past. I keep a written list of all my tasks, and if it gets too much just ask "Which are your top 3 for me to work on, and in which order?"

Once armed with this, the next thing that I am asked to do "As top priority" I can point to the list and say "Just tell me which of my top 3 it replaces and I'll get to it." They then have to decide if it is more important than the other important things.

I'm now left alone to manage my own workload.

I had one boss who when I asked for priorities on several projects all for different clients gave me the answer, "Just do them all". Thanks, I was already planning on doing them all, but they can't all be done at once.